Financial Roundup: BofA and Citi Post Losses; Massachusetts Banks Plan Mortgage Help, War in Pennsylvania, Obama Inauguration Gets Donations

BofA posts loss, gets aid -- Swallowing Merrill Lynch and its $15.31 billion loss for last year's fourth quarter pushed Bank of America into a loss after BofA paid preferred dividends of $2.39 billion or 48 cents per share. BoA got an additional $20 billion in extra federal bailout money and backstop losses on $118 billion of its assets. [Source: Associated Press]

Citi posts loss and splits up-- Citigroup Inc. lost $8.29 billion for the last quarter. Ending the "supermarket" concept, Citi is splitting itself into Citicorp to handle banking and Citi Holdings to deal with asset management and consumer finances. [Source: Bloomberg]

Going schizo on banks -- The split policies on BofA and Citi make bank analysts wonder why the feds want one bank to grow and the other to slim down. Some claim that Bof A is better managed, but others say that bank may face Citi's fate because of its mistaken buy of Merrill Lynch. [Source: American Banker]

Bailed-out bank workers help Obama's inauguration -- Workers whose banks received federal bailouts are returning the generosity to Barack Obama's inauguration next week. Citigroup's employees, including top execs, have raised $133,000; Goldman Sachs workers gave $884,907; and JP Morgan Chase employees contributed $30,600. [Source: Huffington Post]

Nine banks plan new homeowners lending -- Nine Massachusetts banks that got $2.3 billion in federal bailouts plan programs to help first-time home buyers and pension and mutual funds. Among the participants are Leader Bancorp, Independent Bank Corp. and State Street Corp. [Source: Boston Globe]

Bank war in the Pennsylvania hills-- Regional banks are trying to grab customers in western Pennsylvania from National City Bank of Cleveland which is being taken over by Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank. Among the contenders for at least 61 National City branches are Huntington Bank, Citizens Bank and Northwest Savings Bank. [Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]